Hello to you all,

I am wondering, is there a way to make environmentally friendly puppets? How can i create a puppet and not pollute too much? There must be green products out there i could use to create my puppets. Does anybody know about any of these products? For example, foam that is biodegradable, or die's that are not harmfull for the environment.

And about the dye's, is there a way to dispose of the old used dye without harming the environment.

And finally, how many of you actually recycle to create their puppets?

Have a blessed day all,
SHould

It seems to me that puppets are by nature not particularly environmentally friendly.  My personal approach to being a good steward is then to try not to waste to much, build for durability, and use scrap when possible.  I use scavanged foam core from used display boards and stuffing from toys.  I save my foam scrap bits so I can eventually make a bean bag for my daughter.  I often buy equipment second hand.  I'll buy something unique second hand to scrap it for parts.  I get my clothing for my puppets second hand as well.  Sometimes that means buying an adult size shirt and cutting it down.  As a general rule, I buy everything non-puppet second hand as well - my car, my house, my clothing.  Some things I can't get second hand generally - foam, fur, Antron fleece, gluesticks so then I buy new.
My workshop furniture and equipment has cost me next to nothing because I keep my eyes peeled for freebies and cheap second hand pieces.  I LOVE my work area! That round table cost me $10.  Most of my cabinets were free! Here's a picture:

Why not avoid buying materials, and just recycle stuff? Go to freecycle groups in your area (someone posted a link a while ago) and get some free stuff. There are a number of people who also use natural items (ie. pine cones, acorns, etc... things already in nature) to make puppets with.

I agree with puppetlady: keep as much scraps as possible from any of your builds and recycle as you go. I also do something similar... I recycle cereal boxes to create small storage space for scraps, or to put all of my sewing threads in one place so I don't lose them... etc.

John Kenedy,Verna Finley, and Cheryl Henson and many other well known puppet builders use plastic clorox bottles, spoons, and a lot of recycled items. You can even use dish detergent bottles to dispense your glue from instead of buying new bottles. I use my real small scraprs of foam to add blush to the cheeks and then recycle by stuffing it into a nose instead of cotton. There are lot of things you can do. Caution: It can turn you into a pack rat ! lol

Billy d.

Make your puppets out of 100% cotton fabrics new or used. 

Daryl H

Wow guys, those are really interresting tips.

About the foam, the one inch, half and inch and so on. Where do i get these second hand? Any tips? I do have alot of foam that i bought at walmart, the 3 inch kind that i have to lower down to one inch by hand with my small cutter. But when all that foam will have been used, where can i get second hand foam for my puppets?

I cant resist saying this, i love you guys!!!

Puppet hug to all,
SHould

The only thing I've ever heard of doing with recycled foam is shreading it and using it for stuffing or gluing it together for carpet padding.  As foam ages it starts to loses its loft and strength.  So I don't think you will find recycled foam very useful for puppet building.

I have heard though that people are developing soy based foam that is biodegradable.  I don't know if its on the market yet but that might be something to watch for.

Thanks Jon for your input, always good to think about.

Puppet hug,
SHould

Second hand foam might be hard to come by.  I've found some inside mats and cushions, but depending on it's age it may not be reliable - I check for yellowing and see if it crumbles or tears when I pull on it.  Your best bet might be to see if there is a major foam manufacturer or distributor in your area and see if they have scrap. 
Another unique thing that I did as a teen was to make my puppets out of vellux blankets.  You can find these second hand and they have a thin layer of foam built into the velvety fabric.  To use it, bypass putting a foam understructure in the head at all, use the vellux as the skin and stuff the head with fiberfill.  The foam in the Vellux has enough body to hold some shape.  The negative is that the foam in it breaks down with age and the fabric just crumbles.  I just tossed on old puppet made with this, but he was about 20 years old, probably a decent life for a puppet.  I'll add a photo of vellux in a seperate post - my pc is ready to crash.

Here is what Vellux looks like:

It feels like velvet but with a thin layer of foam between the velvet layers.  I don't know if it dyes well.  It doesn't not hide seams well when machine sewn.  I have yet to try hand sewing this material.